


Without Hesitation

by Talesofwriter



Category: Tales of Xillia
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-15 23:18:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13041594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talesofwriter/pseuds/Talesofwriter
Summary: Emily has always had a demon in her head that told her she didn't belong in her circle of friends. She finally managed to run away from the group without notice, or so she thinks. She goes back to her childhood home, hoping to restart her life their, but finds that her friends are more than willing to look for her.





	Without Hesitation

Emily wasn’t sure what prompted it this time. She looked back for a millisecond at her group and shook her head. Whatever made her think that she could belong? That she fit in with them? She’s laughed with them, comfort them when needed, even cared for a few when ill. But she never had the sense that she was ‘one of them’. She left, not knowing where she would end up. Being alone for so long does things to one's mind.

She walked away from the apartment complex that Alvin lived in with Elle, unsure where she would go. The trains were still running this late at night. She headed to the train station, but not without realizing she was being watched.

She reached the train station and took her GHS out to get a tick to the harbor. Once she was back in Rieze Maxia, she was going to do what she should’ve done a while ago. She boarded the train and couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy every time she saw people in groups, laughing and talking. 

She was the quiet one, the weak one, the hot-headed one. She was everything she had always hoped she wouldn’t be. To her, running away so long ago seemed like it wouldn’t have worked out now. Origin only knew if it would’ve and she was sure even the spirit would tell her she would still be feeling this way. 

Once at the harbor, she crossed the bridge, nervous feeling swelling up inside of her. She was really going to do this. She was running away, not hesitating. It felt, peculiar. Why now? Why did she hesitate both times in her life she could’ve run. More importantly though, why was she running back to the birdcage she spent so long in? 

Comfort. 

The idea of a place she knew she belongs. Despite being empty, minus the fact that no one would visit her anymore. She sighed heavily as she continued to cross the bridge. Once in Rieze Harbor, she took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, taking in the sounds, smells and how she felt now. Her stomach twisted into a knot, her gut trying to tell her to go home. But her home was in Fenmont, not in Eylmpios, not in that apartment, and more importantly, not with him. 

She boarded a boat bound for Fenmont’s Seahaven. She still couldn’t believe she was doing this. 

Once back at Fenmont, she held back her tears as she ran through the port and into the city itself. There was a residential district near the research laboratory. On one street, government workers were to live there. As far as she knew, they turned it into normal housing, but her old house, her parent's house, was left untouched. She knew the city well and ran down the back ways. She didn’t want to be followed. She reached the district before she knew it. 

She walked along the street, quiet as could be, looking around at the houses. She frowned when she saw not much had changed at all. She sighed to herself. Guess two years wasn’t nearly enough to change anything. 

“Here we are” she whispered to herself as she stopped in front of her old walkway. She looked at the door, no longer damaged. She took a deep breath, fighting the instinct to turn tail and go home. This was her home. She wouldn’t turn back. This is where she belonged. Not with the others. She took out the key from her boot, a long-held secret she had. She never left home without a key. She frowned though when she saw it was the one to her apartment. She checked again and found it. She never lost it in the entire time she was in Trigleph. How the Exodus members never found it dumbfounded her. 

She used the key and was calmed by a familiar click. She opened the door and walked in. Everything was as Rowen said. The officer in question had it cleaned and cared for. 

“I’m home.” She managed to squeak through her tears. She walked up the stairs slowly and followed the hall to the bedroom at the end of it. 

She couldn’t look into her parent's room. Too many memories would flood her if she did. She entered her room and was amazed. Everything was as it uses to be. She mainly had books and maps of Rieze Maxia. Very few drawings and pictures adorned her walls. She looked at her bed and walked over to it. Many times she didn’t even sleep on it. She normally slept at her desk reading. 

She laid down on her bed and managed to start falling asleep quicker than she normally did. Yes, for some reason living out the rest of her life as a shutout seemed better than being with those who loved her. 

“I’m just a burden.” She muttered as tears flowed freely. She cried herself to sleep.

When Emily woke up again, she was in an unfamiliar room. She looked around and figured she was at the hotel in Fenmont. But how? Why? She looked to find that she was alone in the room. She stood up and looked out the window and into the city. She frowned at the sight. When the light turned on, she winced at the light. Had the lights really been off? Guess her night vision hadn’t suffered in the two years she was gone. She looked to see her friend, frowning and giving her a disapproving look. She met his eyes and couldn’t think of an explanation. 

“You had us worried. We searched all throughout Trigleph before your cat made us follow him to the train station. Her eyes widened in shock, the red flecks glistening in the light. 

“W-what?” She couldn’t believe that her cat led them here. HERE.

“H-how is that possible? And why even find me?” Erston crossed his arms over his chest as he let out a sigh. 

“Once we got to the train station, we ask an employee if they had seen you. His description matched you perfectly. Once we found out you went to the harbor, it clicked. But out of all the times to hesitate, why didn’t you?” He asked monotone. Though, curiosity peaked a bit at the end. Emily looked from his magenta eyes to the floor of the room. 

“My gut told me to turn around, to go home. But that is my home! Trigleph isn’t my home. It never will be!” She defended herself rather brashly. Her voice getting higher as she tried to hold her tears. 

Erston shook his head. He would have to tell her sooner rather than later. It had already been what, a year? He felt abandoned by her though. She’d run off before but, never across the border and straight into the cage that she once called home. Now they knew where she was from and Rowen’s theory was no longer a theory. It was fact. 

“You were born and raised in Fenmont, kept in a gilded cage, with a gilded life. You hated it and were to be Natchigal’s pawn if he ever needed you to be. You were the girl my friend and right-hand man tried to save not once, but twice. I failed you the first time and he failed you the second.” Emily looked at him with shock and confusion.

Wait, did he just, confess something he swore he would deny? Oops.

“Wait...you were…” She turned from him and looked out the window again, pressing her forehead against the cool glass. 

“You were the boy...who tried to save me that night...but that was…” She turned to look at him. Her eyes lighting like a fire. 

“That can’t be true,” she started again. The man that she loved, standing right here in the same room as her. 

“You can’t be King Gaius.” She spoke in another tongue, one Erston was all too familiar with. His eyes slit a bit as he looked at her with a stern expression. 

“I am.” He closed his eyes and tried to figure out how to tell her his reason to keep this secret from her. How long had they been together? Six months maybe? Perhaps one could argue longer? 

“Erston, please...I love you, and I trust you, and yet, you lied to me.” She wasn’t trying to end thing, curious.

“Yes. I did it mainly to protect you.” He moved closer to her. Once he was mere inches away from her, he rested his hand on her shoulder, giving her a softer look. One Alvin swore was reserved for her.

“Emily. You kept this from me. We both made mistakes. Both serious mistakes if you think about it. I didn’t know who you were, just as you didn’t know who I was.” He reasoned with her as she slowly stood up straight. He slid his hand along the back of her shoulders and pulled her to him. She rested her head on the crook of his neck, letting him hold her right there.

“Come back to Kanbalar with me, everyone is there waiting for us.” He tried to get her to come with him. Though, at this rate, he might as well travel back alone. 

She looked up at him, not really catching his eyes, but she knew they were darker than normal. He was serious about this and she didn’t blame him. They needed to discuss this, otherwise, the last year would go the way of the schism. 

“Alright.” Had Gaius not been holding her, he would have collapsed on the bed from shock. What the hell happened?!

“Let us go then. Alvin sent my wyvern when he got back to Kanbalar. Should be in the marshes.” He escorted Emily out of the room but noticed as they walked through the lobby that there were boxes marked for delivery to Kanbalar Palace. 

“I’ve never been on a Wyvern before.” Gaius smiled at the woman, his grip on her tighten just a bit. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure it’s a pleasant one.” She looked at him and nodded before leaning against him. 

“I’m sorry.” She whispered as she continued to let him lead her away. He hugged her tightly, stopping right before the marsh. She looked at him confused.

“Why are we stopping here?” She inquired. He didn’t look at her for a moment.

“Do you recognize this place?” He asked her a bit heartbroken. She was confused and looked around still. She leaned into him more as she realized, this was where she stopped him from taking her away. This was where she sent him off to fulfill his promise to the people that followed him. She wrapped her arms around him.

“I do. This was where I was so close to freedom, that I could taste it, but we were spotted. You hadn’t noticed but I did.” So that’s why she stopped him. They would’ve followed them out of the city. 

“And here we are. I’m about to do it again, but only you can stop me this time.” She looked at him. 

“And I refuse to.” The shock must be affecting her badly if she didn’t think about running. Hopefully, she would take awhile to figure out the locks on the windows in the palace. 

“Are you ready then?” He asked, his tone soft and delicate. She gave him a light kiss. 

“I’m not, but, you need to finish what you started.” He led her out of the city, and once they were on his wyvern, she conked out on him. How she would be once awake again, only Origin knew.


End file.
